St Barts 11-06-09

[ScarletB]

We are staying at Villa AMS in Camaruche. It is close to Lorient. We rented a Grand Vitara so if any one needs a ride? My family had a house in West Halifax, Vt. Just south of Wilmington. Exactly halfway between Brattleboro and Bennington. But recently we have been spending most of our time in Stowe and the surrounding area. Vermont is the only place thats ever felt like home. You are so lucky. My wife was sick for 2 years and passed last year. I'm finding it hard to get myself to go back up without her. This may be TMI but when I also pass, our children have been instructed to take our ashes and scatter them up in Stowe. My wife said by the pretty flowers but unfortunately, I never found out where that was. I told them anywhere would be fine. It's so beautiful up there. Maybe up by the Trapp family lodge overlooking the town.

I'm so sorry!! Trapps is probably one of the nicest spots way up at the top of the hill.
Funny, a handful of BNers are meeting in Stowe next weekend for Oktoberfest.

You'll come back when you're ready and the memories will be happy ones, but everyone has their own timetable for this kind of thing. In the meantime you have SBH to look forward to!

You've probably said somewhere but where in NJ are you?

[RickyB]

Hopatcong. Or Lake Hopatcong.

[ScarletB]

Hopatcong. Or Lake Hopatcong.

I grew up in West Milford (well to the degree that I grew up at ALL!)

[GEED181]

Scarlet and RickyB..If you don't have cell service on SBH, just go across from the airport and buy a prepaid phone card that works on all the pay phones..cheap, like .20 per minute or you can rent a cell from them...I still take my satellite phone with for a back up.....Scarlet, my good friend and neighbor and SBHonline person MartinS is also staying at Le' Petit Mourne...you will like him..a regular SBH visitor and knows the Island VERY well..find him and introduce yourself.....

[GEED181]

RickyB...there will be 60 of us from the SBHonline meeting for lunch at Andy's Hideaway on Sat.....(Scarlet's favorite people)..would be funny if all BN'rs made a lunch reservation also....talk about a lively bunch!!

[Summerlover]

Verizon cell phone users, just call and have international calling added to your account. Now the cost... a cheaper alternative is texting according to what I was told by Verizon. With kids we all know it's a parental requirement to have the capability to text!!! I still have to look into how we will contact home as well. I want to make sure I have been given the correct info. My thoughts are the phone card as well as the texting.

Geed I have been in contact with Martin (you know that Anna Marie Island connection) and look forward to meeting him at Ptit Morne. Thanks for all the tips. Wow now that was some info. We are looking for not spending all our money on food. We are looking for the more inexpensive places to eat if there are those. SBO has some good info. It's coming up fast now so I have to start getting organized.

Scarlet, good find for clothes. I have got to start looking what I want to bring. I know I will try to pack too much. More later, gotta go!!!

[ScarletB]

Scarlet and RickyB..If you don't have cell service on SBH, just go across from the airport and buy a prepaid phone card that works on all the pay phones..cheap, like .20 per minute or you can rent a cell from them...I still take my satellite phone with for a back up.....Scarlet, my good friend and neighbor and SBHonline person MartinS is also staying at Le' Petit Mourne...you will like him..a regular SBH visitor and knows the Island VERY well..find him and introduce yourself.....

He actually PM'd me to apologize for some of the others. D My only fear about the lunch is missing out on saving our spots for the concert that night.
My big concern is being able to reach my mom and vice versa. Do you think there will be a way to give her the villa number? I know the hotels will be easy enough.

[Bahston]

Scarlet,

The "Sorry, No Telephone" days passed years ago. All villas have phones. If you're in a villa then call the rental agent now and ask them for the phone number of the villa. Your Mom will be able to call it from the US. From the US, she would dial 011-590-590-xx-xx-xx. The 011 is the prefix for all international calls, just like 1 is the prefix for calls between areacodes. The first 590 is the country code for St Barth. The second 590 is the city code for St Barth, and the xx-xx-xx is the 6-digit villa phone number. The villa number will likely, but not necessarily, begin with 27.

If the number is given to you as a 6-digit number then just substitute the 6 digits for the x's above. If it is given to you as a 10-digit number starting with 0590 then just substitute the last 6 digits for the x's above.

If you're calling the villa from elsewhere on the island then you would dial the full 10-digit 0590-xx-xx-xx.


Calling home can be almost as easy. The cheapest way, other than Skype, is to use a phone card. Cards can be purchases at the gas station at the airport, at one of the grocery stores, or at Dauphin Telecom in Gustavia. The best brand is InterCard from Dauphin Telecom. Unless you're planning to make a lot of calls then just buy a €5 card. There is a PIN number on the back under a scratch-off block that you will need when you use the card. If I remember correctly, the steps to use the card, which are written on the back, are:

• Dial the access number written on the back of the card (0809-135-135)
• Enter 2 for English
• Dial the number without any special codes (1-212-555-1212 for NYC directory assistance)
• An automated message will tell you how much money and how many minutes (when calling the current number at this time of day) your card is still good for,

That's all there is to it. The card will work from your villa phone, and there should be no charges for the use.


As to the Verizon cellphone comments, it is unlikely that a Verizon cellphone will work on the island. Most Verizon phones only support the CDMA standard. There are handful of Verizon models (GlobalPhones) that support both the CDMA and GSM standards, and those will work as long as international roaming is enabled and you switch them to to GSM mode. (Expect to pay $2.29 - $2.89 a minute for calls.) To the best of my knowledge there are no CDMA celltowers on St Barth, and the closest one is in St Maarten 10-15 miles away.

The absolute most expensive way to make a phone call home is to use a credit card in one of the brightly colored phones on the street. They are a major ripoff.

[ScarletB]

Scarlet,

The "Sorry, No Telephone" days passed years ago. All villas have phones. If you're in a villa then call the rental agent now and ask them for the phone number of the villa. Your Mom will be able to call it from the US. From the US, she would dial 011-590-590-xx-xx-xx. The 011 is the prefix for all international calls, just like 1 is the prefix for calls between areacodes. The first 590 is the country code for St Barth. The second 590 is the city code for St Barth, and the xx-xx-xx is the 6-digit villa phone number. The villa number will likely, but not necessarily, begin with 27.

If the number is given to you as a 6-digit number then just substitute the 6 digits for the x's above. If it is given to you as a 10-digit number starting with 0590 then just substitute the last 6 digits for the x's above.

If you're calling the villa from elsewhere on the island then you would dial the full 10-digit 0590-xx-xx-xx.


Calling home can be almost as easy. The cheapest way, other than Skype, is to use a phone card. Cards can be purchases at the gas station at the airport, at one of the grocery stores, or at Dauphin Telecom in Gustavia. The best brand is InterCard from Dauphin Telecom. Unless you're planning to make a lot of calls then just buy a €5 card. There is a PIN number on the back under a scratch-off block that you will need when you use the card. If I remember correctly, the steps to use the card, which are written on the back, are:

• Dial the access number written on the back of the card (0809-135-135)
• Enter 2 for English
• Dial the number without any special codes (1-212-555-1212 for NYC directory assistance)
• An automated message will tell you how much money and how many minutes (when calling the current number at this time of day) your card is still good for,

That's all there is to it. The card will work from your villa phone, and there should be no charges for the use.


As to the Verizon cellphone comments, it is unlikely that a Verizon cellphone will work on the island. Most Verizon phones only support the CDMA standard. There are handful of Verizon models (GlobalPhones) that support both the CDMA and GSM standards, and those will work as long as international roaming is enabled and you switch them to to GSM mode. (Expect to pay $2.29 - $2.89 a minute for calls.) To the best of my knowledge there are no CDMA celltowers on St Barth, and the closest one is in St Maarten 10-15 miles away.

The absolute most expensive way to make a phone call home is to use a credit card in one of the brightly colored phones on the street. They are a major ripoff.

Wow, thanks SO much! I can't say I'm surprised Verizon doesn't work there, it barely works here in VT!! I think a phone card may be my best bet and as long as she can reach the villa just in case we should be good. Like I said, she's elderly but in excellent health but I like to be able to stay in touch! It may just be easier for me to check in once a day.

Thanks again!

[RickyB]

Thanks GEED and BAHSTON. I take it you've both been there before. I hope I meet up with you guys. ScarletB, I fish a lot up in West Milford. Greenwood lake, Monksville reservoir. Beautiful area but its still no Vermont. I was also concerned about getting there early to claim a piece of prime real estate close to the stage. I was planning on like 6 or 7 in the morning. Maybe. I've done dumber things. Now what do you think the policy is going to be about cameras?

[ScarletB]

Thanks GEED and BAHSTON. I take it you've both been there before. I hope I meet up with you guys. ScarletB, I fish a lot up in West Milford. Greenwood lake, Monksville reservoir. Beautiful area but its still no Vermont. I was also concerned about getting there early to claim a piece of prime real estate close to the stage. I was planning on like 6 or 7 in the morning. Maybe. I've done dumber things. Now what do you think the policy is going to be about cameras?

I'm thinking it's going to be somewhat more relaxed than a normal concert, at least that's the way it was 10 years ago (I wasn't there but know someone who was and he took lots of pictures)

We had a boat on Greenwood Lake while I was growing up, lots of good times there!!

[RickyB]

I have a Nikon digital SLR. Its kind of big. I dont feel like having it taken away from me down there. I may never see it again.

[ScarletB]

I have a Nikon digital SLR. Its kind of big. I dont feel like having it taken away from me down there. I may never see it again.

You also may not want to stand around with it all day. I was thinking of my little digital camera.

[Bahston]

Yes, I've been there a few times. If it's like '99 you shouldn't need to show up at 6 or 7AM, but do what you feel.

[ScarletB]

Yes, I've been there a few times. If it's like '99 you shouldn't need to show up at 6 or 7AM, but do what you feel.

Wasn't that pre internet when no one really knew about it until a few days before? Or are the people who will be there for the celebration blase about stuff like this and not interested in being in the front row? Seriously, I mean I "get" that not everyone is as excited about seeing Jimmy as some of us are so many we're all overreacting.

[Bahston]

People knew about '99 well ahead of time. I was told about it a year in advance. There were people sailing in from every island within reach. The following morning there was a literal parade of boats heading out of the harbor and back to wherever their current home port was located. I've got a full day planned, mostly out of Gustavia, and I don't expect to miss a thing.

[MacPhin]

one thing that hasn't been mentioned is how are we going to get in contact with everyone?? i know some of us are at P'Morne, some are at villas and others at different hotels. anyone have a suggestion?????

[Summerlover]

Here may be another option for those Verizon users. Any other travelers ever rent one of these? http://www.vzwrentinternational.com/int ... phone.aspx
Not sure what we will do about home contacts.

Maybe we should start a listing of our dates when we will be in St Barts and where we will be staying. On another note before doing that e-mail and find out your villa phone number too. I wonder if most villa phones have answering machines??? As with everyone else I know we will be on the go most every day.

[ScarletB]

People knew about '99 well ahead of time. I was told about it a year in advance. There were people sailing in from every island within reach. The following morning there was a literal parade of boats heading out of the harbor and back to wherever their current home port was located. I've got a full day planned, mostly out of Gustavia, and I don't expect to miss a thing.

Good to know, I was going by what people on one of the St Barth forums said that this was going to be really bad because word was spreading further but this is the only Buffett site that has any kind of real conversation going on about it. I guess we can go check it out and see how we feel that morning. There is other entertainment all day so at the very least it won't be like sitting in front of an empty stage all day!

I'm not site saavy enough to figure out how to keep a list all in one place. Anyone? Then we can have a print out like we all have for US concerts. Everyone has mentioned at one point or another where they're staying but my feeble brain forgot long ago.

[Bahston]

Now what do you think the policy is going to be about cameras?

We're not talking about a major concert venue with legions of security here.